i o6ra p \ 



2.555 
.V4 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, 



©f|ap. Sojujro^ft "tya. 

T>S2L.S55" 
-----y 



Shelf 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



Biographers 



Christ 



BY 

EMERSON K. YOUNG, D.D. 



INTRODUCTION BY 

Bishop JOHN F. HURST, L h. D. 




PHILADELPHIA, PA., 

C. R. PARISH & CO., <?Vi37j/' 



639-41 N. Broad St. 






COPYRIGHT, 1893, 

BY 

W. A. GILLESPIE. 



All rights I'eserved. 



CONTENTS. 



Introduction . 

JohnF. Hurst, D.D. L.L.D. 



Integrity of the word, 

A.J. Kynett, D.D. L.L.D. 



Matthew — the Publican, . . .1.5 

Mark — the Evangelist, ... 39 

Luke — the Gentile Historian, . .61 

John — Defender of the Faith . . 89 



TO 

THE MEMORY 

OF 

MY SAIHTED MOTHER, 

THIS WTTI,E VOLUME IS 
AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED 



INTRODUCTION. 



The Gospels are a perpetual joy to the believer 
and to the reverent student of the Life of Christ. It 
is a pleasure to see that my friend and fofmer pastor 
has been making use of his pen in throwing new 
light on their authors and in portraying their char- 
acters and relative qualities He has studied closely 
in this beautiful and enchanting field and now gives 
to the world the benefit of his labors. 

It cannot be doubted that all who read the pages 
of his work will be quickened in their attachment 
to this part of the Scriptures and in their love for 
the Word Himself. The author gives no process 
by which he reaches his conclusions, but simply 
gives the results. This is a great advantage The 
reader is saved the wearisome work of plodding 
through scholarly discussions. To every one who 



INTRODUCTION. 

wishes accurate portraits in outline of the four bio- 
graphers of our Lord, the work may be cordially 
commended, because ot its fidelity, its style and 
that peculiar sympathy with the Great Original 
without which all writing about Him avails nothing . 

Washington D C. j JoHN R H 

Aug. 28-, 1893. J J 



INTEGRITY OF THE WORD, 



"'Heaven and Earth shall pass away, but my words 
shall not pass away." — Mark ij: 31. 



" Scripture is a fountain of living water, in 
which our souls may bathe. Hither let us resort 
from the distractions of the world, from the noisy 
pursuits of the age, from the strife of thought and 
feeling; here will or s souls ^be tranquilized, here 
are we surrounded by the breath of eternity, here 
is the sanctuary of God. Let us learn to live in 
the Scripture, and we shall thus learn to live by the 
Scriptures. ' ' L UTHARD T. 



" The grand old Book of God still stands ; and 
this earth, the more its leaves are tur?ied and 
pondered, the more will it sustain and illustrate the 
sacred word. DANA. 



INTEGRITY OF THE WORD. 



The boldest challenge ever put before the world 
by any one claiming its confidence was that of Jesus 
when He said to the Jews : "Search the Scriptures: 
for in them ye think ye have eternal life : and "they 
are they which testify of Me." 

The chief advantage which the Jewish people 
had over the Gentiles consisted in this : that "Unto 
them were committed the oracles of God. ?1 These 
sacred books were handed down 'from generation 
to generation as an heirloom from the God of Abra- 
ham and of Isaac and of Jacob. They were a sac- 
red trust, however, not only for the Jews but also for 
the Gentiles. They were to be the common heri- 
tage of mankind. Their learned men studied them 
earnestly and devoutly, and the results of their 
studies through successive generations were pre- 
served in their commentaries — the talmuds. All 



io INTEGRITY OF THE WORD. 

these were in their possession in the time of Christ. 
To these were added the memories of their early 
life, of the exciting events connected with the birth 
at Bethlehem, — the story of the shepherds, the 
visit of the wise men from the East, the alarm of 
Herod, the slaughter of the innocents — the traditions 
of which lingered in the minds of the people. By 
these events a deeper interest in the study of the Scrip- 
tures had been awakened, and this was now greatly 
quickened and intensified by the ministry of John the 
Baptist,and the beginning of that of our Lord Himself 
The insatiable longing of all mankind for the water 
of life — a life which they do not have and which 
death cannot destroy, was in them quickened and 
intensified in proportion to the extraordinary ex- 
citements of the time. 

The central 'figure of the Hebrew Scriptures, 
towering above those of Abraham and Isaac and 
Jacob and Moses and David and Solomon and 
Isaiah, and all the prophets, was their promised 
Messiah. Of Him "Moses in the law, and the 
prophets did write." Their proud history was but 
the background from which this pre-eminent per- 
son was constantly coming forth in clearer outline 
and seen at all possible angles of vision. Upon 



INTEGRITY OF THE WORD. « 

His immediate appearance public expectation was 
being more and more concentrated. 

Now "the fullness of the time had come.'' "God 
sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under 
the law." The draperies of prophecies and types 
and shadows were dropped. "Th f ; Word was 
made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His 
glory, the glory as of the Only Begotten of the 
Father, full of grace and truth.'' Jesus stood in the 
focal centre to which all lines of prophecy and type 
and shadow contained in their scriptures tended, 
and in their full light, with divine modesty, pro- 
claimed Himself the Messiah that should come. 
In that focal centre of all souls, which makes Him 
to be "the desire of all nations,'' He stood and 
cried : "If any man thirst, let him come unto Me 
and drink," "I am the Way, the Truth and the 
Life,'' "I am the Resurrection and the Life : he 
that believeth in Me, though he were dead yet 
shall he live : and whosoever liveth and believ- 
eth in Me shall never die." He looked into 
their hungry eyes, and through them into the 
depths of their souls, and, knowing all that was in 
man, his longing for immortality, his questionings 
and doubts and fears, and knowing all that His own 



12 INTEGRITY OF THE WORD. 

words expressed and implied, He challenged them 
and all the world : "Search the Scriptures, for in 
them ye think ye have eternal life : and they are 
they which testify of Me.'' Such a test as this no 
•other than the true Messiah could endure. 

The record of His wonderful life and character 
and of His works and words has been preserved, 
for all succeeding ages, in the four Gospels of our 
New Testament. The earliest practical results are 
recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. The pro- 
found and far-reaching significance of the entire sys- 
tem is expanded and illuminated in the epistles. 
The glorious issue in time and eternity is unfolded 
under the gorgeous imagery of the Revelation of 
St. John the Divine. 

The Messiah of the Old Testament, standing in 
the focal centre of the ancient types and shadows and 
prophecies, is the Christ of the New Testament, the 
"desire of all nations," the Saviour of the world, 
the fullness of Him that filleth all in all." Christ 
and Him crucified occupies the central point of 
time upon which all preceding and foreshadowing 
lines and all succeeding and historic lines of religi- 
ous thought converge, as in the figure of the hour- 
glass. More and more all light, from the earliest 



INTEGRITY OF THE WORD. ^ 

dawn of time to its latest eve, is collected and con- 
centrated on this most glorious period and person. 
In these days there are two distinct and 
clearly marked tendencies of religious thought 
and Bible study. The one is analytic, critical 
and destructive ; the other is synthetic, devout, 
yet scholarly and constructive. The first brings 
all learning to bear upon the minutest detail 
of the sacred text, but with little regard to its 
sacredness. It questions the authenticity of every 
book and word of the Bible ; of every "jot and 
tittle,'' every Hebrew vowel, point and Greek par- 
ticle, and would eliminate everything which would 
not endure the test of the critic's chosen methods. 
The uncertain remainder it squares by the critics 
conception of the teachings of natural science. It 
is as merciless as the anatomist's scalpel in dissecting 
the "human form divine.'' No fibre escapes. The 
whole school is not unlike a college of medical stu- 
dents who cut and carve and trace veins and ar- 
teries and nerves that they may know what is in 
man, long after the soul has departed, and even 
then scarcely accords decent burial to the frag- 
ments. This is popularly called ''the higher criti- 



INTEGRITY OF THE WORD. 

The second, no less scholarly, is more truly ra- 
tional. It believes in the one living and true God, 
the Creator of all things ; and that "the fear of the 
Lord is the beginning of knowledge" and "of wis- 
dom.' 7 It aspires to the divine stand-point of ob- 
servation, and would look out along His lines of vis- 
ion upon all His works and ways. It comes naturally 
and necessarily to the great and glorious centre on 
which all divine thoughts and purposes for man con- 
centrate. " Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to- 
day and forever." This is truly "the highest crit- 
icism. 

This little volume is the contribution of an able, 
scholarly and devout pastor and preacher of Jesus 
Christ and Him crucified to the current study of the 
Word of God ; especially of the four Gospels, 
which give, under the varied light and shade, the 
record of the life of Jesus. It belongs to the high- 
est, rather than the "higher criticism." It will be 
found helpful to the author's brother-preachers and 
to the faith of all believers. 



MATTHEW-THE PUBLICAN. 



" The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the 
son of David, the son of Abraham" 



"St. Matthew exhibits the Gospel in its histori- 
cal relatio?i as the completion, the spiritual fruit, 
of the Christological growth in the Old Testament. 
In and with him, the old covenant passes into the 
7iew; the theocracy into the kiyigdom of heaven ; Sinai 
into the Mount of Beatitudes ; the prophetic into 
the teaching office ; the priesthood into redempt- 
ion by sufferiyig, and the kingship into the triumph 
of Almighty grace" LANGE. 



MATTHEW, THE PUBLICAN. 

THE four Gospels are one history. 
Each is a supplement of the other. 
Diverse in method — different in 
style — varied in tone, they are, 
nevertheless, intrinsically one, and their 
harmonious blending produces a faultless 
picture — a complete biography. "They 
indicate the unfolding of the Evangel in 
all its fulness, so that it reflects the four- 
fold sway of God in the world ; meets the 
fourfold wants and views of humanity ; 



16 THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

and, tinder its fonrfold aspect, displays 
the infinite riches of revelation." Each 
of the Gospels is stamped with the pecu- 
liar characteristics of its author. Each 
was written with a distinct and clearly 
defined purpose and discloses a plan and 
scope of its own, that differentiates it from 
the others. Underrunning all there is a 
plainly visible unity of design, and per- 
meating all the same essential facts and 
truths around which each has grouped the 
other materials of his story. 

"The four canonical Gospels are the 
voice of the Apostolic Church, speaking 
at four different periods of her develop- 
ment. Every narrative adds some trait 
to the image of the Redeemer." 

First in chonological order is the Gos- 
pel of Matthew, considered by all Biblical 
students to have been the first written of 



MATTHEW, THE PUBLICAN. 17 

the Gospels. A Publican, busy with his 
official duties, gathering taxes from his 
own countrymen for their Roman masters, 
lie hears the summons to discipleship and 
instantly obeys. The story of his call is 
told in a single statement: "And as He 
passed by He saw Levi the son of Alpheus, 
sitting at the receipt of custom, and said 
unto him, Follow me. And he arose and 
followed him." There is no hesitancy, no 
questioning, but quick recognition of au- 
thority and prompt response to its com- 
mand. The emoluments of civil office 
are exchanged for the duties of a disciple- 
ship that promises no earthly compensa- 
tion. From that hour he is enrolled in 
the disciple band. 

It was probably about ten years after 
this call that he undertook the task 
of putting the oral Gospel in written 



i8 THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

form. The facts were fresh in his 
memory. They had often been rehears- 
ed in pnblic discourse and private 
teaching, and accepted by the early 
Church without question. But, as yet 
there was only an oral Gospel. No re- 
cords had been kept, and no attempt made 
to set in written order the words and deeds 
of Christ. 

Oral teaching was the favorite method 
of the Oriental Rabbis. Committing to 
memory and transmitting by word of 
mouth, was the popular custom of perpet- 
uating the learning of the past and con- 
tinuing a knowledge of passing events 
The custom is still in vogue among the 
native people of the Orient. It was by 
this practice that the Gospel was first pre- 
served, taught by the Twelve who were 
conversant with all its phases, eye- wit- 



MATTHEW, THE PUBLICAN. 19 

nesses of its occurrences, and familiar by 
personal observation and intimate rela- 
tion with all its successive developments. 
Manuscripts were costly, the work of re- 
cording by pen laborious, and a large per 
cent of the converts, especially among the 
Gentiles, were unable to read ; therefore 
the practice of oral teaching continued 
for some years after the Ascension. 

The accuracy and effectiveness of this 
method cannot be thoroughly appreciated 
in this age of books, when knowledge is 
obtained through the medium of printed 
matter ; but when we remember that the 
Gospel was committed to memory by those 
who heard it, and all that was told of the 
wonderful teachings and still more 
wonderful works of the Son of God, were 
treasured in the thoughts and repeated in 
the speech of the Church, it is easy to 



2o THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

understand that the Gospel history was 
being preserved as accurately as when 
subsequently transcribed to paper by Apos- 
tolic hands. 

It was while the Twelve were living 
and in constant intercourse with each 
other, that Matthew, doubtless appointed 
for the purpose by the others, wrote his 
Gospel. It is reasonable to presume that 
all contributed to its preparation ; drawing 
on their memories for such material as had 
come into their possession, and aiding 
their elected historian to set them in order 
while they were fresh and vivid in their 
minds, — realities with which they were 
perfectly acquainted. 

The fact that Matthew's Gospel was 
in Hebrew, and that it was the only one 
of the four written in that language, 
coupled with its peculiar historic features. 



MATTHEW, THE PUBLICAN. 21 

makes it quite certain that its primary 
mission was to the Jews. To convince 
them, there must be shown a direct con- 
nection between the Old Testament Scrip- 
ture and the facts of the Gospel. The 
chain of events as recorded by their histo- 
rians was unbroken. Between their pro- 
phecies and historic records there was 
close relation. Their history had been a 
steady fulfilment of prophecy and promise 
and much of their future was foretokened 
in prophetic declaration. It must be made 
clear to them, therefore, that this man 
who claimed to be their promised Messiah 
fulfilled the prophecies concerning him, 
and in his life and ministry verified the 
descriptions of their prophets. 

Clearly this first chronicler of the life and 
work of Christ was divinely appointed for 
that special purpose; and the construction of 



22 THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

his Gospel evidences his conception of his 
calling to be in that line. For this work 
he was equipped with conspicuous abilities. 
He was a Jew, ardently attached to his 
Nation. He was an Israelite, sincerely 
believing the tenents of Judaism, and 
scupulously observant of the law. But he 
was not imbued with the intolerant spirit 
of the Sanhedrim. He had none of the 
narrow bigotry of the Pharisee. The fact 
that he held office under a hostile govern- 
ment, indicates that he was not bound by 
the traditional prejudices of his nation. 
He was broad-minded, far-seeing, looking, 
like every other Jew, for the Messiah, and 
wise enough to recognize Him when He 
came. 

The responsible task of writing the 
first Gospel was in competent hands. 
It was his mission to bridge the gulf be- 



MATTHEW, THE PUBLICAN. 23 

tween the dispensations. He was to leave 
a record that should place the facts of the 
new revelation in such intelligent order 
that every candid Jew could see that they 
stood historically related to the old and 
were the natural next things in their 
national history. There is first of all the 
family record, taken from their own 
archives, showing the descent of Christ 
to be in the line of their genealogical 
tables, and proving his birth to be the 
exact fulfillment of prophecy. No Jew 
could read that genealogy, as he found it 
on the public records, and remain uncon- 
vinced, unless absolutely blinded by pre- 
judice, that this was He of whom Moses 
and the prophets wrote. 

He quotes the genealogy as he found it, 
carefully preserved by Jewish sages ; a 
part of their national record ; accepted by 



24 THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

all as credible. It was declared in the 
prophecies that the Messiah should come 
along this line — a Prince of the House of 
David — and his lineage could be traced 
back in unbroken succession to their 
Shepherd King, and thence to their father 
and founder, Abraham. Fourteen gene- 
rations constitute one time-cycle from 
Abraham to David ; fourteen generations , 
another, from David to the Babylonish 
captivity ; and fourteen generations make 
up the last cycle from the captivhy to 
Christ. 

" Nothing could be more convincing to 
an honest minded Jew than the minute 
description of His birth, and the circum- 
stances of His infancy, — time, place, pa- 
rentage, — all related with accuracy of 
detail and corresponding so perfectly with 
the prophetic calculations that foretold 



MATTHEW, THE PUBLICAN. 25 

them, that they could not fail to carry 
weight and conviction to the minds of the 
Jews to whom these prophecies were 
perfectly familiar. 

The Jewish Rabbi had but to read Isaiah 
7-14, and then read Matthew 1-23, and 
with absolute faith in the prophecy and 
personal knowledge, by the testimony of 
eye-witnesses, or the concurring evidence 
of his contemporaries, see its actual fulfil- 
ment. He had but to read Isaiah 60-3 , 
and then turn to Matthew 3-3, and see 
that Matthew has recorded a fact, that 
exactly fulfilled a prophecy uttered seven 
hundred years before. The prophecy he 
believed ; the historic fact he could not 
deny. 

Micah 6-2 designates Bethlehem as the 
birthplace of the Messiah. Matthew 2--1 
relates the fulfillment of the prophecy. 



26 THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

Isaiah 40-3, Malachi 2-1 , 4-1 describe the 
messenger who shall herald his advent ; 
Matthew 3-1 records the coming of the 
messenger. Zachariah 9-9 describes his 
triumphal entry ; Matthew 2 1 repeats the 
story. So welding prophecy and history 
he appeals to the reason and judgment of 
the chosen people, and by irrefutable argu- 
ments urges the claims of the Gospel upon 
them. 

But what was done specifically for the 
Jews reaches beyond their national boun- 
dary lines, carries the Gospel with con- 
vincing force to the thought of the Gentile 
world, and establishes its credibility in the 
judgment of all ages. To us, the prophe- 
cies that indicate His sufferings, His hu- 
miliation, and death, are peculiarly signi- 
ficant. While to the Israelite, cherishing 
his dream of restored empire, and wrapping 



MATTHEW, THE PUBLICAN. 27 

all predictions concerning the Messiah 
in regal robes of dominion and power, 
the prophecies that describe the Man of 
Sorrows, and foretold the sufferings of 
Gethsemane and Calvary, were incongru- 
ous, and could only detract from his precon- 
ceived notions of His character, to us they 
foreshadowed the very Teacher and Saviour 
that our needs demand. The mystery of 
suffering has its explanation in the Atone- 
ment. The burden of sorrow finds its 
hand of relief in the sacrifice of Calvary. 
The longings of the heart for companion- 
ship, and sympathy, and comfort, are 
answered in the life and ministry of Him 
of whom the prophet wrote, "He was led as 
a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep 
before the shearers was dumb, so He 
opened not His mouth." He bore our 
griefs ; the chastisement of our peace was 



28 THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

upon Him. We are admitted into trie 
royalty of service, the kingliness of suf- 
fering, and the kingdom of His patience. 

We have therefore the plain histoic 
argument that connects the facts of His 
life with the prophecies that foretold them, 
and the still more satisfactory argument 
that fits His words and works into our 
necessities, and shows that the character 
delineated by prophetic pen is just the 
character demanded by human conditions. 

This apostle was the reporter of the 
Sermon on the Mount. No other of the 
Evangelists reports it in full. It seemed 
to have been assigned to him as a special 
duty, and so faithful and full is the report 
that the others deem nothing more to be 
needful. 

That Sermon unfolded the policy of the 
Kingdom of Christ It laid down the 



MATTHEW, THE PUBLICAN. 29 

laws by which that kingdom was to be 
governed. It outlined the new relations 
its citizens were to sustain to each other. 
With clearness and precision it taught the 
doctrine of forgiveness and the supremacy 
of love. It mirrors the whole Gospel, and 
leaves no principle untaught, no truth un- 
spoken. There is nothing so beautiful in 
the poetry of the world: nothing so wonder- 
ful in the literature of the ages: nothing so 
profound in the philosophy of the schools. 
It is unique in its simplicity and grandeur. 
A model that has never been excelled. A 
grouping of the virtues from which noth- 
ing can be detracted; to which nothing 
can be added. A cluster of beatitudes 
that leaves no sorrow unreached, no want 
unmet, no life unhelped, no heart un- 
blessed. Not a phase of morality but is 
crystalized into form and substance some- 



30 THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

where between the beatitude that com- 
menced it and the parable that closes it. 
As a Sermon it rises immeasurably above 
and beyond any other ever uttered by hu- 
man lips. Little wonder that honest truth 
seekers, wearied by fruitless searching 
through the bewildering creeds of the 
churchs turn to the Sermonizer of Olivet 
for the truth they seek, and leave that 
mountain brow satisfied. Men who in 
their thought have divorced religion and 
morality, counting the one fanaticism and 
the other the product of reason, have yet 
with the utmost sincerity adopted the 
philosophy of that discourse and sought 
to weave its pure teachings into the warp 
and woof of their characters. It is to 
this apostle that we are indebted for the 
preservation of that marvellous Sermon. 
The others give us fragments of it. Mat- 



MATTHEW, THE PUBLICAN. 31 

thew records it as it fell from the lips of 
the Great Teacher, and transmits it un- 
changed in thought or phrase. 

He reports the charge to the disciples, 
repeating the Master's words that gave 
direction to their teaching, and marked 
out the lines of their ministry. He gives 
us that wonderful group of Parables, which 
in symbolic language describes the King- 
dom of God, and teaches lessons of right- 
eousness and charity. 

Through all, you detect the style of the 
business man ; the plain, unvarnished 
narrative of the man of affairs. There is 
no argumentation ; no attempt to theorize ; 
but a simple statement of events as they 
transpired, letting the facts as recorded 
tell their own story, and do their own con- 
vincing. Such historians are always most 
reliable, and from the annals of such bio- 



32 THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

graphers we glean the surest information. 
There is no attempt to embellish with the 
flowers of rhetoric ; no fancy flights, or 
pictures of imagination. The historian 
who relates events as he gathers them 
from documents more or less trustworthy, 
and is compelled to interweave legend 
and tradition rarely authentic, gives you an 
interesting story, but not a reliable history. 
But the historian who writes of things 
that came under his personal observation, 
and in which he was an active participant, 
is not so anxious to please as to instruct, 
and will be likely to relate the occurrences 
in plain language and the simplest style. 
You see the straightforward narrative 
in every line of St. Matthew's Gospel. 
The story is told in the direct manner of 
one anxious that the facts should be 
known, and the record a faithful presen- 



MATTHEW, THE PUBLICAN 33 

tation of the events and teachings of this, 
inarvellons Teacher. 

It is noticeable, too, that St. Matthew 
confines himself almost exclusively to 
the ministry of Christ in Gallilee. All 
the events that he records transpired in 
that country, and scarcely anything is 
said of His ministry in Judea. It was 
left for John to tell the story of His 
Judean ministry, and leave almost un- 
mentioned His work in Gallilee. 

Who can fail to see the method and 
meaning of this ? It is not unreasonable 
to suppose that between them there was 
a distinct agreement. The two men selec- 
ted by the disciple band to write the his- 
tory of this time were chosen because of 
special fitness for the work. Matthew 
more familiar with the ministry in Galli- 
lee, and better adapted to the task of 



34 THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

-writing its story, is assigned to that field, 
while John, more conversant with the 
Judean ministry, and more likely to be 
impressed with its incidents and their 
meaning, is given that part of the work. 
There is a distinctly defined geographical 
line between the two Gospels, neither re- 
jecting the events recorded by the other, 
and both making a complete history of 
the ministry of Christ. 

Bnt the trend of St. Matthew's Gospel 
is ever towards the Cross. Fact, incident, 
doctrine, all lead steadily toward the event 
that was to be the culmination of the Re- 
deemer's life-work We see the babe re- 
christened with the prophetic name, 
"Jesus." There is the simple statement, 
clear and concise, of the miraculous birth 
that joined the Divine and human natures. 
We hear the Baptist proclaiming His ap- 



MATTHEW, THE PUBLICAN. 35 

proach, and describing His sacrificial death 
in words that pointed the world to its Re- 
deemer. "Behold the Lamb of God." 
From the opening Heaven we see the de- 
scending Spirit, in the form of a dove, and 
behold the recognition of the Father, "This 
is my beloved Son" ; the Trinity is un- 
veiled to human eyes : Father, Son and 
Holy Spirit, visible at the same moment. 
Then the years of ministration in which 
His human lips uttered words freighted 
with Divine wisdom, and His human hands 
were laid upon men with a touch that 
thrilled with infinite power. Over all, 
the gloom of an impending sorrow. 
Through all, continual suggestions of be- 
trayal, agony and death. Above all, the 
distinct outlines of the Cross. We read 
the history ; we follow the life through its 
successive stages ; we come to its close. 



36 THE BIOGRAPHERS OE CHRIST. 

There is a thrill of despair as the agonies 
of Calvary seem to smite to the death all 
the hopes His words and works have 
quickened. But light beams again, and 
the stricken hopes awake to everlasting 
fruition, as the wonder story carries our 
thought beyond Calvary to the open 
tomb, past the tomb to the second minis- 
try in Gallilee, and on to the Mount of 
Ascension, where the risen Christ, victo- 
rious ever death, Conqueror of sin, Re- 
deemer of the world, leading captivity cap- 
tive, returns to the glory that He had 
with the Father, evermore living to make 
intercession for us. 

And so we wait on the Mount, where 
the Apostles leave Him, to receive upon 
our hearts the benediction that falls from 
His lips : u Lo, I am with you always," and 
to take anew our inarching orders that 



MATTHEW, THE PUBLICAN. 37 

send us forth to service and sacrifice, a Go 
ye into all the world and preach my Gos- 
pel to every creature." 



MARK-THE EVANGELIST, 



"God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy 
Ghost and with power, who went about doing 
good and healing all those who were oppressed 
of the devil." — Acts 10 : 38. 



"In St. Mark's Gospel we see the Mighty 
Worker who leaves the energy of his action with 
his church. A T ot here is represe?ited the slower 
process of forming and training communities, but 
the bold and world-wide proclamation, with the 
sure execution of its sanction." BERNARD. 



II 

MARK, THE EVANGELIST. 

THE Disciples were not, as commonly 
believed, uneducated men. Ac- 
customed to speak of them as Gal" 
lilean peasants and remembering 
that some of them were fishermen, it has 
come into popular belief that they were, 
therefore, ignorant men. But such is not 
the fact. They were Jews, and it was one 
of the strict requirements of the Jewish 
economy that every child should be edit- 
^ted. Ample facilities were provided, 



42 THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

and every parent was nnder compnlsion 
to place his children within their reach. 
It is not conceivable, therefore, that a Jew 
in any rank of life conld grow np in 
ignorance 

These Evangelists were not profound 
scholars like St. Paul. None of them 
were schooled in the philosophic lore of 
the age, nor deeply versed in the myste- 
ries of the law, but all had what 
would be termed to-day a common-school 
education ; the ability to read and some 
of them, certainly, to write — a knowledge 
of their own history, and a familiarity 
with the principles of their civil and eccle- 
siastical government. 

Parochial schools existed in connection 
with the synagogue, and in these the 
common branches, and so much of science 
as was then known, were taught to all 



MARK, THE EVANGELIST. 43 

Jewish, children. Education was compul- 
sory. It was the established law of the 
nation that every child should attend 
these parochial schools and avail himself 
of their advantages. To characterize the 
disciples as ignorant peasants is an en- 
tirely gratuitous assumption. 

Such men were intellectually competent 
to record the events in the life of Christ 
as they transpired under their immediate 
observation, or were related to them by 
eye-witnesses. 

The author of the second Gos- 
pel was not one of the original 
Twelve. Whether he had personal know- 
ledge of any of the things he narrates, 
we have no means of knowing. But, 
living in Jerusalem during the ministry 
of Christ, when His marvellous teachings, 
His asserted claim to the Messiahship, and 



44 THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

His publicly performed miracles, were 
stirring the city and nation to their foun- 
dations ; when His arrest, trial and cruci- 
fixion, were events engrossing universal 
attention, it is reasonable to suppose that 
he was conversant with all these occur- 
rences. 

The facts of his life may be epitomized 
in these statements, concerning which 
there is entire agreement among the 
early Christian writers : — He was born in 
Jerusalem ; the son of a Christian matron 
of wealth and influence ; converted under 
the preaching of St. Peter ; the companion 
of Paul and Barnabas, on their first mis- 
sionary tour ; the fellow traveler of Bar- 
nabas on his visit to Cyprus ; sharing the 
imprisonment of Paul at Rome, and 
afterward the close companion of Peter, 
under whose direction he wrote his Gos- 



MARK, THE EVANGELIST. 45 

pel. Tradition adds, that he was sent, in 
his later years, on a mission to Egypt and 
established the Church of Alexandria, of 
which he was Bishop, and finally suffered 
martyrdom under Nero. But this last 
statement does not rest on well authenti- 
cated history. 

It is a singular fact, that outside of tra- 
dition and doubtful legendary lore, nothing 
is positively known concerning the death 
of any of the Apostles. 

The Gospel of St. Mark is the briefest 
of the Biographies of Christ. It omits 
much that the others narrate ; repeats 
many things contained in their Gospels, 
and adds but little that is not narrated by 
either of the others. The style in which 
it is written leaves no doubt but that it 
was designed as distinctively for the Gen- 
tiles as St. Matthew's was for the Jews. 



46 THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

The few references to the Old Testament^ 
the careful explanation of Jewish terms 
and customs, the scant recognition of the 
Law, and the meagerness of details touch- 
ing prophetic and historic matters, that 
were of such vital concern to the Jews, 
make it evident that Mark had a very 
different purpose in writing his Gospel, 
than the manifest purpose that underlies 
the Gospel of Matthew. He tells the story 
of the human Christ ; he records the 
words and works of the Divine Man. 
Clear, concise, but always explicit, he 
relates the compassionate deeds that dis- 
close his Infinite Love and describes the 
marvellous works that reveal His Divine 
power. We are brought face to face with 
a beneficent nature, that asserts kinship 
with all men. We talk and walk with 
One who has the whole race for His com- 



MARK, THE EVANGELIST. 47 

panionship, and humanity for His audi- 
ence. We feel that this man cannot be 
circumscribed within the boundary lines 
of any nation. His sympathy is too far- 
reaching. His compassion is too broad. 
His teaching is too grandly Catholic to 
admit of exclusive application to any 
kindred or nation. 

The portrait that this Gospel holds 
before us, does not reveal the face of the 
Messiah, or the majestic presence of the 
King of the Jews, alone. We behold the 
face of a mightier Monarch. We feel the 
influence of a nobler presence. It is 
Jesus, the Redeemer of the world. It is 
the Son of God, the Elder Brother of the 
human family, who stands before us. 

This was the Gospel the Gentile could 
understand. This was the Gospel he 
needed. It showed a bright way to uni- 



48 THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

versal fatherhood, and opened the gates of 
universal brotherhood. It was such a 
Gospel as this man was peculiarly qual- 
ified to write. Ardent in temperament, 
energetic in action, warm-hearted and 
broad-minded, he was wisely chosen to 
transmit to the Church a Gospel that 
should present its founder as a King and 
Conqueror. The Christ in whom he be- 
lieved was the Son of God. The Master 
who won his allegiance was the King im- 
mortal and eternal. The Rabbi whose 
words had transformed his nature was a 
"teacher come from God," and when he 
sat down to write the story of his life 
and ministry, he thought more of His 
deeds than His doctrines ; of His King- 
ship than His Priesthood ; of His victo- 
ries than His humiliations. Matthew's 
Gospel is the biography of the Messiah, 



MARK, THE EVANGELIST. 49 

and under his pen, prophecy and promise 
crystalize into history. Mark's Gospel is 
the biography of the Divine Man, and in 
language clear, concise and vivid, he des- 
cribes the miracles and mighty works that 
attest His claim to equality with God. 
In Matthew's Gospel there is minuteness 
of detail, elaboration, the linking of events 
in consecutive order. In Mark's there is 
startling statement, rapid transition, scant 
regard for chronological arrangement 
and constant suggestion of the Saviour's 
words : " Believe me for the very works' 
sake." 

Bible scholars have rated this Evan- 
gelist below the others. In popular 
thought he has never held equal rank 
w T ith the other biographers of Christ. 
The brevity of his story, the peculiarity 
of his style, and the absence of elaborate- 



50 THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

ness of detail, Have measurably detracted 
from the impressiveness of his Gospel and 
led to an underrating of its merits. In 
truth, no other of the Gospels presents so 
strongly and strikingly the fulness of the 
Saviour's character as Divine and human. 
No other sets forth so vividly the great- 
ness of His mission as Sovereign and 
Servant: at once reigning and serving and 
a conqueror in both realms. To this man 
His life and ministry were a sufficient 
demonstration of His Divinity, an absolute 
confirmation of His claim to the Messiah- 
ship. There was no need of historic ar- 
gument ; no necessity for an appeal to the 
prophesies ; no occasion for searching of 
genealogical records. He had boldly de- 
clared His own character and mission. 
He had met the powers of darkness and 
conquered them. He had triumphed over 



MARK, THE EVANGELIST. 5: 

all His foes. His resurrection was His 
culminating victory. What more was 
needed ? Here is the Son of God mani- 
festing His divine power by His divine 
working ; here is triumphant ministry in- 
augurated with an assumption of super- 
natural authority and power, and char- 
acterized from the miraculous advent to 
the miraculous ascension, by supernatural 
manifestations. All these were matters 
of vivid realization to this Evangelist, and 
his record of them is a series of graphic 
life pictures rapidly succeeding each other. 
He saw no defeat, no humiliation, but 
constant victory and final exaltation. " It 
is the Gospel of the intrinsic life and 
power of Christ reflected in the kindred 
soul of the Evangelist." 

It is the concurrent testimony of the 
Fathers that St. Mark wrote under the 



52 THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

direct dictation of St. Peter. The impetu- 
ous Disciple, fiery in speech, vigorous in 
action, a born leader — bold, aggressive, 
tireless, — was admirably adapted for the 
active duties of the Apostleship, preach- 
ing, planting churches, inspiring converts 
with zeal and courage, but scantily equip- 
ped for the work of an historian. He could 
write a stirring epistle to the churches, 
stimulating, exhorting, reproving, encou- 
raging ; but he had neither aptitude 
nor taste for the prosaic work of a chron- 
icler. But his son in the Gospel, and his 
intimate associate, had special fitness for 
this particular work. He could take down 
his discourses. He could record the story 
as it came from his lips. He could give 
his version of the life of the Lord. 

Preaching in that early day consisted of 
little more than a rehearsal of the story of 



MARK, THE EVANGELIST. 53 

the Incarnation, and the words and works 
that formed the ministry of Christ. 
These things, fresh and vivid in their own 
memories, were told over and over again 
and their meaning and purpose explained. 
To St. Mark, as he heard them from his 
spiritual father, they became almost as 
familiar and realistic as though he had 
seen and heard them himself. He could 
write them out with perfect accuracy of 
detail and give them something of the vi- 
tality and magnetism of this warm-hearted 
and enthusiastic Disciple. To be sure, 
they repeated much that Matthew had al- 
ready written, but it was in a different 
tone — with more warmth and vigor, and 
with an emphasis and inflection that gave 
them not a different meaning, but a differ- 
ent bearing. 

Matthew records what he saw and heard 



54 THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

in the style of a methodical, matter-of-fact 
business man, and proves himself a reli- 
able historian. But the narrative is de- 
void of spirit ; and while it convinces the 
judgment, it does not stir the emotions. 
Peter listened with the affection of a de- 
votee and believed with the ardor of an 
enthusiast, and the story, as he tells it, 
glows with fervor and quivers with the 
sympathy of his intensely human nature. 
He is forever saying to us, " Behold the 
God-Man, the Son of God fighting the bat- 
tle of humanity against the powers of dark- 
ness, and by His final victory opening the 
gates of Paradise to the fallen race." 

He was the first Apostle of the Gen- 
tiles, though overshadowed by the greater 
distinction accorded to St. Paul. It was 
to him God sent the angel messenger, de- 
claring the middle wall or partition broken 



MARK, THE EVANGELIST. 55 

down and the Gentile nations admitted to 
the Gospel feast ; and is it not presum- 
able that it was because his great heart 
and generous nature would most promptly 
recognize the justness of the decree, and 
respond most willingly to the summons, 
that he was made an embassador of the 
Gospel to the heathen world ? We may 
readily believe that when he decided to let 
his son in the Gospel put in order the 
things that he had seen and heard, great 
prominence would be given to the com- 
passionate words and humane deeds that 
revealed the largeness of the Saviour's 
thought, and the outreaching purpose of 
His infinite love. There was much in 
common in the characters of these two 
men who were associated in the produc- 
tion of this biography of the Christ, and 



56 THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

the characteristics of each appear in the 
Gospel story. 

There is nothing contradictory in these 
two Gospels. Neither conflicts with the 
other. It is the presentation of the same 
trnth from different standpoints ; it is the 
shading of the same story with the feel- 
ings and characteristics of different 
minds ; it is the Gospel in its many-sided 
character. The genuineness of the nar- 
rative is made more apparent by the fact 
that, though related by different men, told 
in different style and language, revealing 
the peculiarities of diverse minds, its dif- 
ferent versions are in perfect harmony ; 
disclosing no essential discrepancies ; con- 
taining no important variations ; discov- 
ering a beautiful unity in diversity that 
clearly reveals the truth common to both, 
and makes it evident that both were writ- 



MARK, THE EVANGELIST. 57 

ten under the inspiration of the Holy 
Ghost. 

Each Gospel story is a supplement of 
the other, and all unite to form an abso- 
lutely perfect biography, complete in all 
its blending phases, harmonious in all its 
variety of detail. This one is well describ- 
ed in the words of Peter: "God anointed 
Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost 
and with power, who went about doing 
good and healing all that were oppressed 
of the devil, for God was with Him." In 
that word picture is mirrored the Christ 
of humanity. It is the image of the 
Master that this deep-hearted Apostle had 
enshrined in memory and shadows forth 
in the Gospel that he dictates to his inter- 
preter Mark. It is a marvellous picture ; 
blending majesty and humility, joining 
infinite power to infinite compassion. 



5 8 THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

brightening human service with celestial 
radiance. If the human side is painted in 
stronger colors, if the deeds that were 
fullest of human suggestions are given 
greater prominence, and the whole picture 
seems to glow with the reflected beauty of 
His works, let it be remembered that the 
artist who painted it was the Disciple, 
who, more than all the rest, was a gener- 
ous, tender-hearted man, under whose 
rough exterior throbbed a heart whose 
every pulsation was in sympathy with his 
brother man. Peter could have dictated 
no other kind of a Gospel. Mark could 
have been interpreter of no other. It is 
like both — strong, vigorous, sympathetic, 
human. It reflects on every page the im- 
age of the Divine ; but it crowds every 
utterance with the impulses of the 
human. 



MARK, THE EVANGELIST. 59 

The first sentence of this Gospel de- 
clares His Divinity : "The beginning of 
the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of 
God." The last words describe the pur- 
pose and plan of the Incarnation : " And 
they went forth and preached everywhere, 
the Lord working with them." Such a 
Gospel, equally revealing the Divine and 
human elements, is the only one that can 
answer the world's cry for deliverance ; 
for it is the only one that fits itself into 
the world's necessities. To hold the su- 
pernatural before men forever is to be- 
wilder and daze. To keep thought fixed 
on the natural alone is to belittle and dis- 
appoint. To reveal these in perfect com- 
bination, so united that neither can be 
discerned apart from the other, is to give 
the world a Saviour before whose sov- 
ereignity it can bow with reverent awe, 



60 THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

and to whose humanity it can cling with 
trustful love. This is the Christ of the 
Gospels. In energy, Divine ; in sympa- 
thy, human ; in power, God ; in manifes- 
tation, man. 



LUKE, THE GENTILE HISTORIAN. 



"Is He the God of the Jews only ? Is He not also 
of the Gentiles f Yes, of the Gentiles also." — 
Rom. j: 20. 



" Many undertook to write gospels ■, but their ef- 
forts have perished. God did ?wt wish anything 
imperfect or erroneous on such a subject to come 
down to us. He in His wisdom has provided us 
with four accounts of the life of Jesus, which are 
to be trusted; and, when the great methods of sal- 
vation are plainly set forth, it is for us to love and 
study them:' LID DON. 



LUKE-THE GENTILE HISTORIAN. 

WHY the third Gospel ? It is 
mainly a renarration of the 
facts contained in the Gospels 
' * ' * of Matthew and Mark. More 
elaborately it tells the story of the advent 
of Christ. More concisely it repeats the 
doctrines of His Sermon on the Mount. 
With slightly changed phraseology it re- 
lates the incidents of His Gallilean min- 
istry, and more minutely it details the 
events of His busy life, which the other 



64 LUKE, THE GENTILE HISTORIAN. 

Evangelists have also recorded. There is 
but little variation in the historic arrange- 
ment, and less in the chronological order, 
from the others. There is perfect agree- 
ment with the preceding histories in all 
essential particulars, and no apparent dis- 
crepancies that are not easily reconciled. 
It contributes little important new ma- 
terial; it adds nothing essential to our 
stock of information. 

What good purpose, not met by the 
others, could this third Gospel subserve ? 
The answer is ready : It adds fresh and 
strong testimony to the truthfulness of 
the Gospel narrative. The author of 
this gospel history was a Gentile, a na- 
tive of Antioch. His book was the only 
contribution from the Gentile world to 
the New Testament history ; indeed, 
with the possible exception of Job, the 



IvUKB, THE GENTILE HISTORIAN. 65 

only one in the Bible. All the other 
writers are Jews, and it is reasonable to 
suppose that what they wrote would be 
tinged with the pride and prejudice of their 
nationality. These gospels were to be 
contemporaneous with the literature of all 
time. They were to be subjected to the 
close scrutiny of scholars and the adverse 
criticism of learned skeptics. If only 
Jewish handiwork were discernible in 
their construction, it might be alleged 
with some show of plausibility that they 
were Jewish fabrications, constructed out 
of the Rabbinical traditions and untrust- 
worthy legends of Jewish annals, and 
some force might have been given to op- 
posing arguments by that allegation. 
But here is a witness outside Judea, an 
educated man, as his profession indicates 
—the wise physician of Antioch, — a 



66 THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

scholar, as trie clear statement of his Gos- 
pel still more clearly testifies ; for it is 
agreed among all biblical students that 
his style is the purest Greek of that age ; 
an historian of high order, as his natural 
and methodical arrangement of facts and his 
interesting recital of incidents reveal, all 
these giving his story important rank in 
the four-formed Gospel. 

There may have been an additional rea- 
son for his biography of Christ, in the 
fact that the Gospel of St. Matthew, as 
yet only written in the Hebrew language, 
had but a limited circulation among the 
Jews ; and the Gospel of St. Mark was, 
published and read only in Northern Italy. 
Hence there was need of another Gospel 
adapted to the locality where'this Apostle 
lived and ministered. A different class Qf 
hearers attended upon his ministrations. 



LUKE, THE GENTILE HISTORIAN. 67 

He must meet cultured minds with cul- 
tured speech. The lines of argument that 
convinced the Jew would have but little 
effect upon the scoffing Greek. The re- 
gion to which he was providentially as- 
signed needed the written Gospel, but not 
such an one as Matthew had written, He- 
braistic in thought and diction, not a con- 
cise assertive history like Mark's, assum- 
ing the events that he records to be true, 
and needing no labored argument to es- 
tablish them ; but a Gospel more univer- 
sal in its scope and purpose, more argu- 
mentative in its character, more likely to 
convince the reason and reach the con- 
science of thoughtful men, who must find 
in this new religion the unknown God, 
whom they ignorantly worshipped, and in 
this provided redemption an answer to the 
unvoiced yearnings of their souls. 



68 THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

This educated gentleman, a convert to the 
Christian religion, familiar with the words 
and works of the Son of God, and convers- 
ant with the circumstances of His death 
and resurrection, formulates all these facts 
in historic order. He has the oral Gospel 
as it existed in the mind and memory of 
the Church, the documentary fragments 
that were floating about among the be- 
lievers, of the Gospels of Matthew and 
Mark, and the statements of living eye- 
witnesses, out of which to form his his- 
tory, and to this task he sets himself, 
bringing his genius as an historian to the 
work in order, as he declares in the pre- 
face, that "we might know the certainty 
of these things," and he has furnished 
what is beyond all question the most sys- 
tematically arranged and historically ac- 
curate of the four Gospels. 



LUKE, THE GENTILE HISTORIAN. 69 

Coming from such a source, and writ- 
ten by such a competent hand, it is an 
important contribution to biblical history. 
This scholar examined carefully the liter- 
ature bearing on the events of which he 
writes. This keen critic analyzed the 
testimony from all sources. This shrewd 
man of affairs investigated all sides before 
reaching conclusions. This companion 
of St. Paul listened to his profound dis- 
cources, and heard from his own lips the 
story of his conversion and his own per- 
sonal vision of Christ, and from all this 
variety of material constructed his Gos- 
pel. Now, the agreement of such a nar- 
rative with histories written at earlier 
dates, by other hands, must be accepted as 
convincing evidence of the truthfulness 
of the story. That there is absolute har- 
mony in even the minutest details of these 



70 THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

three synoptic gospels is the verdict of all 
candid scholars, the most partial critics con- 
curring in the verdict. 

This apostle was the intimate compan- 
ion and frequent fellow-traveler of St. 
Paul. There is good ground for the be- 
lief that their relationship was similar t o 
that of Mark and Peter. While there is 
lack of positive evidence that Luke wrote 
his gospel under the direct dictation of St. 
Paul, yet the results of historic research 
incline the consensus of opinion to that 
theory. 

Certainly there is much that seems to 
indicate that upon the character of this 
writer, and upon his history, were im- 
printed the genius and spirit of the chief- 
est Apostle. St. Paul could never have 
written the Gospel of St. Luke, no more 
than St. Luke could have written the Epis- 



LUKE, THE GENTILE HISTORIAN. 71 

ties of St, Paul. Both were very gener- 
ously equipped with rare faculties of 
mind, but totally diverse. Each was emi- 
nently fitted for his respective task, but 
neither could have done the work of the 
other. Luke was a historian, Paul a the- 
ologian ; Luke was a chronicler, recording 
events as they transpired, Paul a philoso- 
pher, dealing with the reasons and causes 
that lay behind and permitted these occur- 
rences. Luke relates facts, Paul declares 
principles. There is methodic arrangement 
in the one. There is utter disregard of 
historic method in the other. The letters 
of the great Apostle are veined with phil- 
osophic thought, faultlessly logical, strong 
in statement, profound in learning, unan- 
swerable in argument. His discourses 
are marvellously eloquent. What he 
wrote and said are a formulated theory 



72 THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

that remains to this day the foundation 
and framework of all Christian doctrine. 
Next to the Son of God the Apostle 
of the Gentiles is the conspicuous 
central figure of the New Dispensa- 
tion. In scholarship, the peer of the best. 
In oratory, the equal of the greatest. In 
leadership and executive capacity, holding 
the highest rank. But with all his wealth 
of intellectual endowment, St. Paul could 
never have written this Gospel. He had 
not the historic gift and endowment — as 
distinct as the genius of song or the gift 
of oratory. But, St. Luke possessed both 
in a marvellous degree. Is it not probable 
then that St. Paul, discovering this peculiar 
gift in his friend and companion, may have 
suggested the writing of this history, and 
aided in its construction ? Understand- 
ing as he did, the value of such a work as 



LUKE, THE GENTILE HISTORIAN. 73 

a testifying contribution to the truthful- 
ness of the Gospel, it is more than likely 
that he not only advised its composition, 
but furnished something of its material. 

It is well to remind ourselves, at this 
point, that the author of this Gospel was 
also the historian of the early Church. 
It was his hand that wrote the Acts of the 
Apostles. Indeed, they are a continuous 
narrative, the first chapter of Acts fol- 
lowing in natural order, the last chapter 
of Luke. Repeating the description of 
the Ascension, he then relates the subse- 
quent history as it continues under Apos- 
tolic labor. 

Take this fact in connection with an- 
other that appears in the opening Chapter 
of this Gospel, and you discover a feature 
that gives the work of Luke a unique and 
distinctive character. He resumes the 



74 THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

historic narrative where the last Book of 
the Old Testament leaves it. The first 
chapter of Luke follows in natural order 
the last chapter of Malachi. The clos- 
ing words of Prophecy that finished the 
Old Testament Canon, described in un- 
mistakable language the coming of the 
Baptist, the forerunner of the Christ. 
This was four hundred years before the 
Advent, but it is the last important con- 
necting link in the history of the chosen 
people. The interim is filled with wars, 
dispersions, civil commotions, and final 
subj ugation by the Roman Empire ; but 
these shifting scenes of carnage and con- 
quest have no direct bearing upon the 
great consummation for which the Jews 
were created a nation. Across the chasm 
of centuries their last prophet points 
the expectant thought of the nation 



LUKE, THE GENTILE HISTORIAN. 75 

to the Star of Bethlehem and the 
promised Messiah, and presents a 
portrait of the herald who is to precede 
His coming, and prepare the way for His 
ministry. St. Lnke attaches his narra- 
tive to this last prophecy and in the open- 
ing words that give account of the birth 
of John the Baptist, and the subsequent 
chapters that describe his ministry, re- 
lates its exact fulfillment. 

So his Gospel stands in natural his- 
toric relation to the Old Testament Scrip- 
tures and continues the narrative into the 
Apostolic era, and on to the period when 
it is transmitted, an unbroken record, into 
the hands of the Christian fathers. We 
may justly accord to him the highest rank 
as an historian, easily taking pre-emin- 
ence over the others in the orderly ar- 
rangements of his story, the chronolog- 



76 THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

ical accuracy of its statements, the 
crystal clearness of its style, and the 
manifest thoroughness of its research. 

It is noticeable also that the Gentile 
hand is manifest in this Gospel, as the 
hand of the Jew in the Gospel of Mat- 
thew. Matthew, with a clearly defined 
purpose, traces the genealogy of Christ 
back along the paternal line to Abraham, 
to convince the Jews that this was their 
Messiah. Luke carries it on through the 
maternal succession from Abraham to 
Noah ; from Noah to Adam ; from Adam 
to God, that it might be forever settled in 
the deepest convictions of the world that 
the advent of God's Son leveled every 
intervening barrier and broadened the old 
Dispensation from a special blessing to 
Israel, into a universal benison to human- 
ity. 



LUKE, THE GENTILE HISTORIAN. 77 

The scope of the Gospel seems to 
widen with each successive record. Its 
aggressive stages make more manifest its 
universal purpose. As one after the other 
of the Apostolic ambassadors carries its 
proclamation to the outlying kingdoms, 
the conviction deepens in their own hearts 
that the sceptre of their Sovereign Master 
is to have unlimited dominion. They be- 
hold the Gospel victorious in Greece. 
They see the proud Roman acknowledge 
; .ts sovereignty. They witness its fruits 
in every land where its outposts are plant- 
ed. Signs and wonders follow their 
preaching, multiplying fruits -confirm 
their confidence. From every mission- 
ary tour they bring inspiriting reports of 
progress and display fresh tokens of suc- 
cess. Little wonder then that as the wide 
sweep of this new empire became more ap- 



78 THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

parent, and its magnificent possibilities 
dawned upon them, that their latest his- 
torian should be the most catholic spirit- 
ed of all, forseeing its complete triumpn 
in the completeness of its adoption. 

The Gospel of Luke seems a series of 
startling incidents, told with such graph- 
ic power, and yet so closely related as to* 
form a story. The life and ministry of 
Christ pass before us like the changing 
pictures of a panorama. With historic 
accuracy it introduces the son of Zacharias 
as the harbinger of the Messiah, foretold 
by prophecy, and turns thought to him 
as the first important personage in the 
New Dispensation. With manifest pro- 
priety, it locates the first event of the 
Gospel era in the Temple, where the div- 
inely appointed priesthood is still serving, 
and through which in the divine order, 



LUKE, THE GENTILE HISTORIAN. 79 

the great Annunciation is to be made. 
What could be more fitting, more in har- 
mony with the unbroken order of Provi- 
dence as declared by their prophets and 
illustrated by their history, than that a 
priest in the direct line of Aaron should 
announce the last successor in the royal 
line of David. 

It is the hour of service in the Temple. 
The multitude of people are bending in 
prayer before the great alter. A venerable 
priest, holy in life, blameless before God, 
is executing the duties of his sacred office. 
The rising incense from the golden alter 
is filling the Temple with fragrance. It 
is the moment when the priest, ascending 
the steps of the great alter, approaches 
the Holy of Holies, where once dwelt the 
Shekineh. The people are waiting in 
reverent awe : suddenly an angel appears, 



80 THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

unseen by the people, and declares to 
Zacharias the honor that God has just put 
upon him. The angel messenger disap- 
pears. The angelic announcement is 
fulfilled. John the Baptist, the son of 
Zacharias of the living line of the House 
of Aaron, the founder of the divine priest- 
hood, becomes the annointed herald of the 
promised Messiah. 

From the temple to the plains of Beth- 
lehem. The world asleep. The heavens 
aglow. A song in the air. Angel voices 
chanting the new gloria of the world's 
redemption. Shepherds the only listen- 
ers. Upon their ears falls the heavenly 
melody. To them is delivered the mes- 
sage that ripens Isreal's hopes into fru- 
ition. Again a manifest appropriateness. 
It was from these very plains and from a 
family of Shepherds that God had chosen 



LUKE, THE GENTILE HISTORIAN. 81 

their greatest King. What more fitting 
place to announce the birth of David's 
greatest Son. 

Thirty years of silence. The strains 
of the angel song have died away. The 
Annunciation is but a fading memory. 
Judea is still a subject Province. The 
chosen people are still adhering to the 
letter and departing from the spirit of 
their ancient faith. Suddenly, the silence 
is broken : " The voice of one crying in 
the wilderness," startles the nation. A 
strange preacher with a stranger gospel 
smites the dull conscience of the people. 
It is the son of Zacharias fulfilling his 
mission. A man of the desert, with a 
clean conscience and a fearless spirit 
returns to assail the vices of the nation. 
He is as stern as one of the old prophets. 
He has no soft words for the titled, no 



82 THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

flattering phrases for the rich. With un- 
sparing reproof he confronts scribe and 
pharisee, priesthood and royalty. He 
preaches a gospel of repentance and 
righteousness, but it is only the prelude 
of the gospel that the angels had sung 
into the world's hope on that first Christ- 
mas morning. He is but the herald pro- 
claiming — the forerunner preparing the 
way — the rough hewer, laying the axe at 
the root of abounding iniquity But the 
Prince is at hand recognized by His her- 
ald, inducted into his priestly office, vic- 
torious over the tempter. The Son of 
God supplements the Baptist's gospel of 
repentance and righteousness with a 
grander gospel of pardon and peace. 

Another scene of gentle ministration, 
blameless living, miraculous words and 
works, a new gospel intoned with com- 



LUKE, THE GENTILE HISTORIAN. 83 

passion and prevaded with peace, a royal 
invitation calling the world from the 
nnrest of sin to the contentment of His 
favor. Then Gethsemane, the betrayal, 
Calvary, the forsaken tomb, the Ascen- 
sion, and the Gospel story is told. 

Bnt we mnst take in one more scene to 
complete the record of this historian. 
Again an angel messenger. Again a 
proclamation from the throne. This 
time to the bereft Disciples, lingering, 
dazed and bewildered, on the Monnt of 
Ascension. The clond has received the 
beloved Master ont of their sight. It is 
their second bereavement. They mnst 
go forth to carry on His work ; bnt bereft 
of His companionship. Before them the 
world-field. In their hands the great 
commission. Lingering in their hearts, 
the cheering promise of His second com- 



84 THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

ing. Inspiring their courage, the dimly 
comprehended assurance of another Com- 
forter. For this they must wait. No 
work to be attempted until the Spirit of 
power descends. 

An upper chamber in the Chy of 
Jerusalem. The whole of the Christian 
Church assembled. One hundred and 
twenty members waiting. Prayer and 
supplication, day and night ; but no 
answer. The days glide by, prayer con- 
tinues. No sign of spiritual baptism. 
Still with one accord, they wait in prayer 
and supplication. A new promise has 
created a new faith: "Whatsoever ye 
ask in my name " — and now they press 
the promise. The Master is within the 
veil. He will carry their supplications to 
the throne. The answer must come, not 
many days hence. Pentecost dawns. It 



LUKE, THE GENTILE HISTORIAN. 85 

reminds them of Sinai and the giving of 
the Law. As on that day the Law came 
by Moses, and opened the first Dispensa- 
tion, why not on its anniversary, grace 
and truth by Jesus Christ to usher in the 
new ? Waiting, praying, believing. "Sud- 
denly a sound from Heaven as of a rush- 
ing mighty wind, and it filled all the 
house where they were sitting." The 
infant Church with Holy Ghost power in 
its heart, goes out upon its mission. A 
hostile world confronts it. Persecution 
assails it. Learning derides it. Kings 
decree its death. Opposing empires stretch 
out their hands to crush it : but it moves 
through every barrier, outrides every 
storm, conquering every foe. It has re- 
ceived the baptism of power, always and 
forever God's assurance of victory. 



JOHN-DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. 



We behold His glory, the glory as of the only- 
begotte?i of the Father. 1 ' John i '.14, 



' ' In the three synoptic gospels the representation 
of Christ as He lived and conversed among men, is 
carried on by three successive stages from its first 
Jewish aspect and fundamental connection with the 
old covenant, to its most catholic character and a- 
daptation to the Gentile mind. 

In the fourth Gospel we rise to a more distinct 
apprehension of the spiritual mystery involved in 
the picture which has been presented. This Apos- 
tle begins, not like his predecessors from an earthly 
starting point, from the birth of the Son of Adam 
or the Son of Abraham, but in the depth of un- 
measured eternity and the recesses of the nature of 
GodP BERNARD. 



IV 

JOHN-DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. 

ST. JOHN'S Gospel, like his own 
character, is unique. In style, 
scope and purpose it has few char- 
acteristics in common with those of 
the other three Evangelists. They, with 
evident sameness of object, set in written 
order the events of the life and ministry 
of Christ as transpiring under their own 
observation, or narrated by eye-witnesses. 
Their histories cover the same periods and 
relate the same occurrences. So marked is 



9 o THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

the similarity between them, that by com- 
mon consent they are classified as the 
synoptic Gospels. Bnt John departs from 
their beaten paths. He repeats bnt very 
few of the occurrences which they have 
recorded. He makes bnt slight allusion to 
events which they have made prominent. 
There is no reference in his Gospel to the 
birth, childhood or genealogy of the Sav- 
iour. He gives but seven of the Lord's 
miracles. He furnishes no example of the 
parabolic features of the Saviour's teach- 
ing . He makes no effort to observe historic 
order in the narration of events. What he 
has to say of the personal history of Christ 
is confined to the period of His Judean 
ministry, to which the others make but 
slight allusion. They wrote of His min- 
istry in Galilee, and to this St. John 
scarcely refers. It was clearly his purpose 



JOHN, DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. 9 r 

to make the historic portion of his Gospel,, 
not a repetition, bnt a supplement to theirs ; 
omitting what they had recorded, and add- 
ing what they had omitted. 

But his great design, transcending all 
others, was to write a doctrinal Gospel, 
interweaving the deeds of Christ's ministry 
simply to illustrate His doctrines ; and 
bringing His works into prominence to 
demonstrate His teachings. St. Clement, 
with marked felicity, calls this in contra- 
distinction from the others, " the spiritual 
Gospel." 

Let it be remembered that John's Gospe T 
is the child of his old age. Knowing that 
he should " tarry long," according to the 
promise of the Master, he has been in no 
haste to complete the part of the work 
assigned to him. The already published 
Evangels are sufficient for existing needs. 



92 THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

They tell the story of the Christ with 
amplitude of detail. They are authentic, 
harmonious, complete. They are widely 
circulated, read in all the Churches, ex- 
pounded by the Apostles, and accepted by 
the converts to the faith. So he fills that 
interval between their Gospels and his 
with labors abundant ; preaching, planting 
churches, journeying from land to land, 
obeying the marching orders of his Mas- 
ter, until he has passed his fourscore years. 
Then the necessity for another Gospel 
appears, and under the direct inspiration 
of the Holy Spirit he contributes his per- 
sonal recollections to the story of the 
Christ. It has a character unlike the 
others ; an importance greater than at- 
taches to theirs ; an interest that his inti- 
mate relation to the Master deepens ; a 
value that judgment matured by years and 



JOHN, DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. 93 

experience alone can give. The lessons 
of the great Teacher linger fresh and fra- 
grant in his memory. The words of the 
Elder Brother, spoken as he leaned npon 
His breast as the beloved Disciple, are 
treasured in his heart. The kindly coun- 
sels that were given in those delightful 
seasons of seclusion and confidence are un- 
forgotten. He has carried them as a price- 
less possession, into the shadows of old 
age ; and, now that the passing years have 
developed the vaguely comprehended pur- 
pose of the Master, and fulfilment has 
interpreted many of His dark sayings, 
he performs his alloted task, contributing, 
as we had a right to expect, a Gospel of 
doctrine, of unanswerable argument, of 
established fact. 

It was necessary that one Apostle should 
remain to write the Gospel story in the 



94 THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

stronger light of veritable history. In 
the passing years many of the prophetic 
utterances of Christ have been fulfilled. 
Jerusalem has been destroyed, the Jews, 
have been dispersed, the day of pentecost 
has brought the promised Comforter, the 
manifestation of the spirit in the churches 
has taken all mystery out of the words of 
the Saviour that foretold His coming. 
This Apostle has carried the Gospel to the 
populous centers of the Gentile world and 
has lived to see its chief seats of author- 
ity established in heathen cities, remote 
from Jerusalem, its birthplace. 

It was full half a century after the 
crucifixion, that this Gospel was written. 
In that interval of years the Christian 
Church had been established and assumed 
organic form. The scattered societies to 
whom the other Evangelists wrote, had 



JOHN. DEFENDED OF THE FAITH. 95 

crystallized into compact organizations. 
The new faith had taken deep root in the 
centers of civilization. Forms of govern- 
ment had been instituted. Permanent 
supervision had been provided. Unity of 
belief prevailed and uniformity of services 
had been arranged. The infant church 
had been christened at Antioch, with a 
name given in derision by the scoffing 
Greek, but continuing as its distinguish- 
ing title ever cince. So it was not for the 
brethren in Ephesus, nor the saints at 
Rome, nor the believers scattered through 
Cappadocia that John prepares his Gospel ; 
but for the Christians who have become an 
organized and flourishing body. He had 
watched the growth of Christianity for 
fifty years. As Bishop of Ephesus, he was 
supervising one of its most important 
departments. He had helped to form its 



96 THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

character. He had aided in giving shape 
to its organic elements. He had seen it 
assume proportion until it had become a 
solid and permanent institution, already 
foreshadowing the influence it was destined 
to exert upon future ages. 

But new conditions have arisen. A new 
order of things has come into existence. 
With growth and development and organ- 
ization has come new requirements. 
There is need of greater clearness in the 
statement of doctrines ; more precision in 
the formulas of belief; more solidity and 
unity in the accepted creed of the churches. 
Heresies are creeping in. Erroneous doc- 
trines are unsettling the faith of the 
converts. Out of the sayings of Christ, 
as recorded b} T the other Apostles, wrong 
theories are being evolved and false con- 
clusions deduced. Some are questioning 



JOHN, DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. 97 

his divinity, others are denying his doctrine 
of Redemption. Gnosticism, a natural 
result of the contact of Christian faith with 
Pagan philosophy, is drawing some from 
the new religion. To meet these condi- 
tions, neither of the existing Gospels was 
wholly adequate. They were mainly 
histories ; stating facts, relating incidents, 
narrating events and saying little of doc- 
trines dedncible from these. Bnt now 
there is a manifest need of another presen- 
tation of the Gospel that shall make a 
holder and clearer statement of the " Faith 
once delivered to the Saints," and declare 
in all their fnlness of meaning the funda- 
mental doctrines of Christianity. The 
evident purpose of St. John is, 

First j To prepare a doctrinal Gospel ; and 

Second, To set forth the great truths that 

underlie the Gospel scheme of Redemption. 



98 THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

He was peculiarly competent for this 
task. He had lived nearer the Saviour's 
heart than the others. He was beloved 
above them all. " While the other Evan- 
gelists," says St. Augustine, " remain . 
below with the man Christ Jesus, and 
speak but little of His Godhead, John as 
if impatient of setting his foot on the 
earth, rises from the very first words of his 
Gospel, not only above earth and the span 
of earth and sky, but above all angels and 
invisible powers, till he reaches Him by 
whom all things were made. Not in vain 
are we told in the Gospels that John leaned 
on the bosom of the Lord at the last 
Passover feast. He drank in secret at that 
divine spring." No human name is placed 
so near the name of Christ as his. No 
other human teacher has uttered words that 
reveal in such marvellous degree the spirit 



JOHN, DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. 99 

of Him " who spake as never man spake." 
What he wrote, and the tone and tenor of 
his writings, disclose the same blended 
compassion and power, tenderness and 
authority, that marked the discourses of 
the Great Teacher. He was more than a 
"believer, greater than a disciple, nearer 
than a trusted companion. Something of 
likeness in their human natures, similar- 
ity of taste or temperament it may have 
been ; -oneness of spirit, the same innate 
truthfulness and gentleness perhaps -but 
something drew Master and Disciple into 
a closer and sweeter relation than either 
of the others. There was an inner sanct- 
uary to which he was admitted, a fuller 
confidence with which he was honored, a 
deeper love that he was permitted to feel. 
We may well believe that in that holy 
sanctuary of their mutual friendship, 



ioo THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

truths were whispered in his ears that 
were not spoken to the others ; secrets 
were imparted to him for which neither 
they, nor the waiting world were yet 
ready ; and an understanding of the sweep 
and grandeur and spirit of the Gospel 
obtained by him that did not enter into 
the thought of the others. " The other 
Gospels represent Christ chiefly as a Sav- 
iour come to seek and to save that which 
was lost. John represents Him as a 
friend abiding with his own. In the other 
Gospels He is a Shepherd in the wilder- 
ness. In John He is a Shepherd in the 
fold. In the other Gospels He is the Son 
of Man. In John the Son of God. In 
the other Gospels the Bridegroom is com- 
ing for his bride. In John he has taken 
her to himself, and her love at least dimly 
recognises in Him the One among ten 



JOHN, DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. 101 

thousand and altogether lovely." It is 
not hard to believe, that as he leaned upon 
the Saviour's breast and listened to His 
teachings, that the words of the great 
Teacher came to him with a deeper mean- 
ing than when spoken to the multitudes 
by the seashore and on the mountain side. 
He not only believed the doctrines, but 
felt their power. They were truth and 
life to him. He never questioned the 
Divinity of his Master, for he had touched 
His divine nature. What they failed to 
comprehend he had learned in the seasons 
of delightful fellowship with his Lord. 

We are not surprised then at the bold- 
ness and confidence that marked his 
declaration of the Gospel, for its infinite 
truths were inwrought into the very fibres 
of his being. Age, too, had brought 
maturity of judgment. Fifty years of 



io2 THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

Apostleship had greatly enriched his 
experience. Long years of service in the 
various offices of the church had broadened 
his knowledge of its needs . Frequent j our- 
neys from land to land had afforded a wide 
range of observation. He had reached 
the period when men think seriously and 
act with deliberation ; when opinion is not 
the blossoming of impulse, nor belief the 
hasty avowel of overwrought emotions. 
He is beyond the age of sentiment and 
enthusiasm. He is on the heights of 
sober reason and calm judgment. 

Voices from such altitudes challenge 
attention and command respect. Counsels 
from such sources have the weight of 
maturity and the wisdom of experience. 
He is the aged Apostle, who has outlived 
his colleagues, lingering in the borderland 
between the kingdom of grace he has 



JOHN, DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. 103 

helped to establish and the kingdom of 
glory into which he is soon to be translated, 
in order to set his signet of sanction on 
the Gospel already written, and complete 
the work by a clearer, bolder statement of 
its doctrines. 

The common conception of this Apostle 
is erroneous. Limners have painted a 
pleasant favored man, with effeminate 
features and labeled the picture " The 
Eeloved Disciple ; " but the portrait is 
imperfect, a creation of their own imagi- 
nations. Amiable he was, but not effemi- 
nate. Gentle, but not weak. Sweet-tem- 
pered, but not soft and yielding. He was 
tender and compassionate as a woman, 
but his tenderness was veined with vigor, 
firmness and courage. The Apostle of 
love he was, but a love intoned with every 
manly element. There is good foundation 



104 THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

for the belief asserted by some recent 
Biblical writers, that the John known to 
ns through the Gospel and the Epistles 
was the John transfigured by grace. He 
had become a new creature in Christ and 
" was the beloved Disciple because he was 
the one in whom the love of Christ had 
the freest course and wrought the fullest 
and largest results." 

Gentleness and firmness are not incom- 
patible. Amiability and courage are close 
companions. Often the " bravest are the 
tenderest — the loving are the daring." 
Who can read the letters of this Apostle, 
where kindly approval lies side by side 
with stern denunciation and endearing 
terms are followed by the severest epi- 
thets, and think of him only as capable of 
the soft words and delicate courtesies of 
a carpet knight. Not impetuous like the 



JOHN, DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. 



105 



Hot-brained Peter ; he was as brave as he 
when occasion required. Not a doubter, 
like the skeptical Thomas, he was not a 
whit less thoughtful. Calm, self-poised, 
tender-hearted, he had none the less a 
strong nature ; firm in its devotion to 
truth, tireless in its labor for the Master, 
heroic in its endurance of hardships and 
perils, manly in all its developments. He 
was appropriately christened a loving dis- 
ciple and a son of thunder. 

"The higher he rose in faith and love,, 
the more he beheld of the glory and the 
Godhead of the transfigured Word, and 
penetrated deeper and deeper into the 
meaning of the sayings which he had 
received from the Master's lips, as one by 
one they became illuminated with heaven- 
ly light." 

Now read his Gospel — there is neither 



io6 THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

prelude nor preface. It opens with an 
asserted fact, like the story of the crea- 
tion : "In the beginning was the Word, 
and the Word was with God, and the 
Word was God." First of all the divinity 
of Christ is declared, not argued. It is 
laid down as the fundamental truth of this 
new Kingdom, out of which every other 
truth must grow — in the light of which 
every doctrine of the Gospel must be in- 
terpreted. He foresaw the controversies 
that were to gather about this central 
truth. He heard the mutterings of the 
coming storm. Unbelief had asserted 
itself in the churches. Here and there 
among the converts was a loosening faith 
in the claim of the Lord Jesus to equality 
with the Father. With prompt and posi- 
tive measures must this growing heresy 
be met. Undermine that doctrine, and 



JOHN, DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. 107 

the fabric of Christianity crumbles. 
Destroy the world's belief in the unity of 
the Godhead, and the Gospel is a pillar of 
sand. Doubt the divinity of Christ, and 
all faith dies. There must be no uncer- 
tain sound, no double-meaning phrases, 
no half-concessions — clear, unequivocal, 
unmistakable must be the declaration of 
this eternal verity. And there it stands, 
in the first utterance of his Gospel, pre- 
eminent above all others, saying to every 
soul that seeks admission to this spiritual 
Kingdom, "This is its supreme truth ; in 
this there must be unquestioning faith ; 
to this there must be no hesitating loy- 
alty" — "In the beginning was the Word, 
and the Word was with God, and the 
Word was God." 

Following this, in natural order, and 
ranking next in importance as defining 



io8 THE BIOGRAPHERvS OF CHRIST. 

and determining citizenship in this King- 
dom, lie declares the doctrine of spiritual 
regeneration : " Except a man be born 
again he cannot see the Kingdom of God." 
It is a midnight interview ; a rnler in 
Israel and the Great Teacher. The wis- 
dom of the world is holding conference 
with the Wisdom of God. An honest 
student is seeking the truth. Learning 
is coming to the source of all knowledge. 
The law is questioning the Gospel. Juda- 
ism is looking into the face of its succes- 
sor. It is not to Nicodemus alone that 
Christ declares, "Ye must be born again," 
but through him to the wisdom of the 
coming ages. It is not to him alone that 
He refuses to explain the mystery of the 
new birth; but that His answer to this 
Jewish sage may remain to meet all simi- 
lar questioning. A mystery, yes ; but 



JOHN, DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. 109 

no greater than the coming and going of 
the wind. With that ye mnst be content. 
With that the world mnst- be satisfied. 
An inflexible mandate confronts every 
man who asks admittance here. Conver- 
sion mnst precede citizenship. Regenera- 
tion mnst qualify for its holy obligations. 
A little fnrther on another doctrine is 
unfolded — sweet and comforting to every 
child of God. It is clothed in symbolic 
language indeed, but with no shade of 
mystery upon it. A figure ; but intelli- 
gible to the weakest intellect: — U I am 
the vine, ye are the branches 1 ' ! Spiritual 
union with Christ symbolized by the 
union of vine and branch. As these are 
one in their natures, with the same con- 
stituent elements, the same vital forces 
and the same manifestations, so are Christ 
and all believers one ; His life imparted 



no THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

to theirs, His love flowing through e very- 
artery of their being, His spirit domina- 
ting theirs. And then that it might be 
known that this union had been formed 
in Heaven and sealed with the sanction 
of the Father, this Apostle gives us, with 
verbal accuracy, that wonderful interces- 
sary prayer : "That they may be one, as 
we are one, I in them and Thou in Me, 
that they may be made perfect in one. n 
It is this Gospel that declares with un- 
mistakable clearness the doctrine of the 
Resurrection. It is spoken in the ear of 
sorrow. It is laid as a comfort on berea- 
ved hearts. It is illustrated at an open 
grave. The Son of God was in tears 
when he clothed that truth in formal 
phrase. He was on His way to the grave 
of one whom He called His friend. He 
had been often a guest at his fireside. 



JOHN, DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. in 

In his home he had spent restful hours. 
In that loving circle at Bethany, He was 
a welcome visitor. His heart responds to 
their sorrow. a Jesus wept." But His 
sympathy is not a powerless emotion. He 
can break that death slumber. He can 
call His friend back to life. He can re- 
store the brother to the companionship 
that death has broken. But He can do 
more than this. He can lay a great com- 
fort on the bereaved heart of humanity. 
He can roll away the stone from every 
grave of despair. He can ripen into fru- 
ition a hope that till now has lain vague 
and wordless in the world's convictions. 
Heathen philosophy has dreamed of im- 
mortality. Judaism, with faltering speech 
has dimly foreshadowed it. Now, with a 
witness rising from the grave to attest 
his authority, He declares it. All the 



ii2 THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

yearnings of all the ages past, all the 
hopes of all the ages to come crystallized 
into form and fact, when by the grave of 
His friend Lazarus, the Divine man pro- 
claims Himself the resurrection and the 
life, and sent into the realm of death a 
command that forever dethroned its King. 
One more doctrine completes the Gos- 
pel of the beloved Disciple. The ministry 
of Christ is drawing to a close. The 
shadows of approaching death are gather- 
ing. He has called the infant Church to- 
gether to speak His farewell words and 
breathe upon it His parting benediction. 
The Disciples are listening, but not fully 
comprehending. He has told them that 
He is to go away. They are to see His 
face no more. Bewildered, sorrowful, 
unable to catch the meaning of the prom- 
ise, they hear Him say : "I will not leave 



JOHN, DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. n 3 

you comfortless." "It is expedient." ."If 
I go I will send Him." It required the 
Pentecostal baptism to explain that prom- 
ise. It took the long years of Apostle- 
ship to reveal its value. But they did un- 
derstand it in the years of toil and suffer- 
ing that followed, when He brought 
strength into their weariness and courage 
into their hours of peril, and power into 
their ministrations, and peace into their 
tumultuous experience of care and con- 
flict. Then they knew what this legacy 
of the Master meant. 

So we need the seasons of bereavement 
to interpret the meaning of that promise, 
and the hours of helplessness to un- 
fold its value. The Holy comforter 
is God's abiding presence in the 
world. Through Him He still talks 
with men ; by Him He lives in the human 



114 THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

heart. The expediency of the departure 
is apparent now. The visible Christ as- 
cends, that His invisible spirit might de- 
scend and abide forever — Regenerater, 
Sanctifier, Comforter. 

St. John completes the Gospel structure. 
It has been his task to declare its doc- 
trines. With masterly skill he has per- 
formed his work. One by one He mar- 
shals the great truths before us — the 
Divinity of Christ, spiritual regeneration, 
union with Christ, the immortality of the 
soul, the mission and ministry of the 
Comforter, and presents them cemented 
by the love of Calvary into a complete 
and comprehensive scheme of redemption. 
"It is derogatory to this Gospel to regard 
it as simply the supplement of the synop- 
tics or a refutation of the errors of the 
times. It supplements and refutes by the 






JOHN, DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. 115 

simple fact that it recounts trie Evangeli- 
cal history subsequently to the first can- 
onical narratives, and in the midst of 
heresies, of which it necessarily takes 
note, while it yet claims to give us, in a 
positive and individual form, all the his- 
tory of the Christ. We possess in it the 
epitome of the teachings of the last of the 
Apostles — of him who was nearest to the 
heart of Jesus." 



The fourformed Gospel is in our hands 
to-day, as it came from theirs in that early 
morning of the Christian era. It has 
been subjected to every form of assault. 
It has been assailed by every kind of 
weapon that human ingenuity could forge. 
But it has come down through the ages 
unimpaired. The passing years have 
changed none of its teachings. In letter 



n6 THE BIOGRAPHERS OF CHRIST. 

and spirit it is the same yesterday, to-day 
and forever. It has successfully chal- 
lenged the severest scrutiny. Out of 
every contest it has emerged victorious. 
It stands to-day sublime in its unity, 
grand in its harmony, faultless in its 
teaching, mighty in its power to save. 
It lays upon human sinfulness a promise 
of pardon. It opens to the guilty soul a 
city of refuge. It puts into human hope 
a certainty of eternal life. It provides 
redemption for every soul in captivity to 
sin. All needs are covered by its provi- 
sions. All life may be changed by its 
touch. Shall all this be to men a history 
or a possession — a theory believed, or a 
life accepted ? 

With St. John the Gospel story closes. 
The biography of the Christ is before us 
in its fourfold phase. We are impressed 



JOHN, DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. 117 

with its inexhaustible freshness, its infin- 
ite variety, and its mighty unity. "The 
various characteristics of the Apostolic 
writers, followed and supplemented one 
another. But there is not one of these 
elements which the Church is not bound 
to make its own ; and its whole history 
will be but a progressive appropriation of 
the true Christ — of Him whose image, in 
all its Divine lineaments, the first century 
of the Church faithfully preserved." 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



021 897 279 2 



